Rechargeable electrochemical cells are designed for charging to store input electrical current as energy, and discharging for outputting or releasing the stored energy as output electrical current. In certain applications, such cells may experience charge and discharge periods of varying length. These intervals can range between relatively long periods of time and very short periods of time (i.e., charge/discharge bursts). One example is a cell that stores energy from a solar cell field: charging may occur essentially uninterrupted during clear, sunny days, with extended periods of discharge at night, or charge and discharge cycles may be extremely short due to cloud cover interruptions. Similarly, a wind turbine may output uninterrupted power for charging during steady, continuous winds, but the power output may fluctuate if the presence of wind is interrupted. However, such electrochemical cells are optimized for one charge/discharge scenario, typically the longer charge/discharge cycle where reactant availability is more of a limiting factor than energy efficiency.